​Staff

​​Tavae Samuelu

Executive Director

​Tavae Samuelu is the Executive Director for Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC). As the Executive Director, Tavae provides strategic oversight towards realizing EPIC’s mission to promote social justice by engaging the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities through culturally-relevant development, advocacy, and research. She’s passionate about liberation work and supporting the political consciousness and growth of youth. Tavae was born and raised in Long Beach, CA, and moved to the Bay to attend Cal where she majored in Ethnic Studies. Before joining EPIC, she served as the Development Director for the RYSE Youth Center in Richmond and has since become a member of RYSE’s Board of Directors. 

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Tonga Victoria Fakalata

Leadership Development Manager

Tonga Victoria is the Program Manager for EPIC. Tonga Victoria brings a strong creative sense around building culturally relevant content that meets the needs of both NHPI high school and college youth. A graduate of University of Redlands, Tonga Victoria is a PILOT Alum (Cohort 2), a NAPALI Fellow (Class of 2016) and a proud former Student-Teacher of Queen Salote College and Tupou College Toloa, respectively. She hails from the gentrified streets of East Palo Alto, where she grew her passions around youth/leadership development and creative writing, before joining the EPIC team. Tonga Victoria is an evolving product of the village(s) that raised her and hopes to contribute her powerful personal experiences to the heart work of building up young leaders of the NHPI community, both in the Los Angeles area and abroad.  

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Natasha Saelua

Lead Researcher

Natasha Saelua is the Lead Researcher for EPIC. In this role, Natasha collects, records, and disseminates knowledge for and about the NHPI community by directing key projects and building partnerships with academic institutions. Her passions include Pacific Islander cultures and histories, culturally relevant education, and community empowerment. Born and raised a military brat, she attended high school in the Bay Area before attending UCLA, for her bachelor's, and later on, master's degree. Prior to this role, she served as a founding board member for EPIC, while working in student affairs at UCLA's Community Programs Office. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education at Indiana University.